Jessie Sanchez
Jessica “Jessie” Sanchez is a student at Lakewood Middle School. She is a member of Lakewood’s soccer team. On the soccer field, she is strong and fierce, but off the field, she’s one of the nicest people anyone could meet. Appearance Jessie is Mexican-American, with black hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. She is 5'5 with an athletic build. She is a tomboy who likes to wear soccer jerseys, sneakers, and her hair in a ponytail, but at times, she is willing to dress a little girlier and let her hair down. Her signature colors are lime green, yellow, and navy blue. Personality Jessie is competitive but loyal. As a serious soccer player, she works hard on the field to score goals and win the games for her team. Throughout the series, she is considered Lakewood's star soccer player, which she is proud of, despite it going to her head at times. During the series, she is shown to be a loyal and supportive friend. She sticks up for her friends when they are in trouble and supports them with any situation. Notable Moments Jessie is first introduced in ''First Experiences, ''along with many of the main and recurring characters. She is a student from Sunshine Meadow Elementary School who makes the transition to Lakewood Middle School. Although she is a little nervous about the changes that middle school will bring, she is optimistic about her experience. In the story, she tries out for the sixth grade girls' soccer team. She quickly bonds with Coach Edwin, who becomes her future soccer coach, but deals with bullying from a few of the other girls who are trying out. She also befriends Alex Sanders, a lonely classmate in her social studies class who is not adjusting well to middle school. ''Best Friend or Boyfriend? ''focuses on Jessie coming to terms with her romantic feelings towards her best guy friend, Freddy. At the beginning of the story, she denies her feelings, but when she begins to feel jealousy when Freddy begins hanging out with other girls, she is forced to admit them to herself and to Freddy. She also finally confronts the bullying from her soccer teammates Sally and Camryn, who were jealous of her position on the soccer team (Jessie is the center forward). After confronting her issues, Jessie goes on to score the winning goal for her team during their first game of the year. However, her celebration is kept short when friends of Clarissa Simpson (who had been flirting with Freddy) injure her as part of Clarissa's scheme and land her in the hospital. It turns out that she has a sprained ankle. This is also briefly mentioned in ''Arabella for President. '' In many other stories, Jessie's relationship with Freddy is explored. In sixth grade, they are friends even after they admit their feelings for each other, but by seventh grade, they are a couple. In ''Revenge ''and ''Dance Drama, ''they are each other's dates to the Autumn Dance and Farewell Dance, respectively. In ''Last Day of Seventh Grade, ''they attend the Farewell Dance, and share their first kiss. Jessie is shown to be a loyal friend in several books, notably many of the early ones and ''New Year, New Problems. ''She befriends Alex and supports her when Alex falls out with her former best friend Marylin. In ''New Year, New Problems, ''she supports her friends Robbie and Arabella when they go through a breakup, but ends up feeling conflicted between them. Jessie goes through grief when her grandmother Rosa, who had been in her life since she was a baby, passes away. Jessie, who normally has a tough and competitive demeanor, completely breaks down and refuses to speak to anyone. However, she is grateful when she learns that her friends and family are willing to support her and surprise her with a gift for her to honor Rosa. Jessie struggles with issues regarding her physical and emotional health in ''Changes, Changes, and More Changes. ''She is still heavily grieving her Abuela (grandmother) Rosa, and she worries that she isn't developing normally when she doesn't have her period by age fourteen. She feels like her family and friends aren't taking her issues seriously, so she tries to be strong and pretend that they don't affect her. However, after expressing her feelings to some of her friends and her mom, she realizes that some of them are going through similar issues and despite those issues, they are there for her. By the end of the story, Jessie begins to adopt healthy grieving tactics to cope with the loss of her abuela and she finally gets her period. In ''The Summer Before High School, ''Jessie tries out for the soccer team at Fairfield High School, the high school she starts attending when the series end. However, unlike the tryouts at Lakewood, the ones at Fairfield are much more vigorous, and she faces competition from players who are just as skilled as her. Jessie fears that she will never be good enough to make the high school team, but she puts in the extra work and gets along with the other girls so she can secure a spot on the team. At the end of the story, she is grateful that her middle school experience opened up soccer-related opportunities and made her realize that being feminine wasn't a bad thing after all. Significant Relationships 'Alex Sanders' Jessie and Alex have become best friends since they first met in middle school. They are very similar to each other, in terms of liking the same things and showing disdain for things they consider girly or people they don't like. However, Jessie is the more mature and logical one of the two. She is the one who keeps Alex's head on straight. Still, Jessie has Alex's back, no matter what. 'Freddy Hamilton ' Jessie is best friends with Freddy, her best guy friend from elementary school. In the early books, it is said that she is very close to him and she treats him like her brother. They are both very interested in soccer, but Freddy isn't nearly as competitive as Jessie. When they start sixth grade, their relationship begins to change. They both begin to see each other as more than friends, and are confused on how to continue their friendship. Eventually, they begin to date. At the end of seventh grade, they share their first kiss. They are still best friends but in a different way. 'Robbie James ' Jessie has known Robbie since elementary school. Like with Freddy, she is very close with Robbie. They are very supportive of each other, even though they have different interests. 'Chloe Winters ' Chloe is also a student that attended the same elementary school as Jessie, Freddy, and Robbie. However, Jessie is initially not as close to her as she was with the boys because they are into different things. In middle school, they begin hanging out in the same group of girls, and they eventually become closer. 'Arabella Wilson ' Arabella is another girl that Jessie had befriended in middle school and had developed a close relationship with. They become close when Arabella starts dating Robbie and gets to know his elementary school friends. Jessie and Arabella help each other with romantic advice and keep each other balanced. Like the majority of their friends, Jessie is not a fan of Arabella's overdramatic attitude, but she tries to calm Arabella down and reassure her that her problems aren't as big as they seem. 'Rosa Garcia ' Rosa is Jessie's grandmother. They have a loving relationship. Rosa cooks and makes clothes for Jessie, and gives her advice on life. She supports Jessie and is proud of her accomplishments. Jessie confides in her grandmother and is grateful for what she has done for her. Between seventh and eighth grade, Rosa passes away, and Jessie is horribly distraught and depressed. Jessie is shown to be fine when eighth grade starts, but the memory of her grandmother has remained a significant part of her life. 'Leah Harrison ' Initially, Jessie was not that close with Leah. They tolerated each other, but they didn't seem to like each other that much due to their vastly different personalities. However, as they grow older, they began to understand each other and grow closer. Gallery Jessie drawn.jpg Trivia/Fun Facts *The character of Jessie came from a children's book series that the author's brother used to read where there was a character named Jessie who was friends with a Chloe, a Freddy, and a Robbie. The Jessie in that book was also into soccer. The author decided to make her own version of that Jessie, but modified. *In ''First Experiences, ''it is revealed that Jessie is a fan of the show "Gravity Falls" and her favorite genres of music are punk-pop and indie rock. Other Information *Confidence: Jessie is very confident and secure about herself when it comes to soccer, but when it comes to social issues, her confidence diminishes a little depending on the situation. *Intelligence: Jessie is very intelligent. She is not the smartest girl in her grade, but she is someone who is a perfectionist who likes to make exceptional grades. *Negative Emotions: Jessie's negative emotions usually come out when she is on the soccer field or playing other sports. She is very competitive and likes to win, and she sometimes acts like she is the only one on the field who is capable of accomplishing that goal. *Biggest Flaw: Perfectionism is Jessie's biggest flaw. She doesn't like when things do not go as planned and becomes very hostile towards people if they feel like they are ruining her accomplishments. *Hobbies: Besides soccer, Jessie enjoys playing video games with her friends. *Musical Preference: Jessie's favorite genres of music are punk-pop and indie rock. She also likes to listen to traditional Mexican music, such as Banda music. *Perception to Others: As the series progresses, Jessie becomes well-respected by her peers due to her accomplishments at Lakewood. *Friend Type: Jessie likes to spend time with girls who have interests other than the typical girly ones, but she is willing to befriend them if they seem nice and interesting than their hobbies appear to be. *Romantic Type: Jessie likes to date people who enjoy the same interests at her and who understand her as a person. *Family: Jessie's family consists of her mother Cecelia, her father Daniel, and her maternal grandmother, Rosa. Jessie also has a large extended family. Other information Template by https://www.deviantart.com/prenncooder Category:Main characters Category:Lakewood Students Category:Soccer Players Category:Characters